stemming the tide: stem cell therapy - part 1

For this week’s blog, I was asked to write about the very interesting (and at times controversial) topic of stem cell therapy. Please know, this blog is not intended to be an all-inclusive discussion (it would take many months’ worth of blogs to keep up with the emerging data on this subject), but instead a “Beginner’s Guide” to understanding the basic ideas and possible uses of stem cell therapy in veterinary medicine.

By no means do I consider myself an expert on the topic, but hopefully you can take away a better understanding of the concept of stem cell therapy and where it appears to be going in veterinary medicine.

To start, a little clarification. At this time, stem cell therapy in veterinary medicine is most commonly (and clinically) associated with mesenchymal stem cells. These are a specialized line of cells that can be encouraged to develop into three main times of tissues; namely, muscles, tendons and cartilage. These are not cells that can be “turned into” any tissue type in the body. These cells are most commonly collected (aka: harvested) and isolated from bone marrow and fat tissue. As you can imagine, the collection is not necessarily a difficult process, but the isolation (requiring in vitro culture and selection) requires a specialized lab, and at this time, can come with a hefty price (but hey – that’s what pet insurance is for!).

Okay, so after these cells are harvested and isolated, what next? At this time, the most common use of this therapy is in orthopedic cases. In other words, these cells are used to treat conditions such as osteoarthritis and acute orthopedic injuries. The isolated cells are injected into the joint/site of injury and also are injected systemically into the body (via an intravascular injection). Theoretically, these cells are then able to help the area heal and regain normal structure and/or function.

There have been some in-house units developed so that clinics can harvest and isolate their own mesenchymal stem cells. The main difference is that this is a mixed population of cells that is isolated, whereas in the laboratory setting they are able to culture a very specific cell line. At this point in time, we don’t know if this difference is clinically relevant. In other words, does this really matter? And does stem cell therapy really work? In tomorrow’s post, I’ll tackle that all-important question…

Save this page for later reference
To save pages you will need to login to your account. If you do not yet have an account please register here.
We ask for your details so you can retrieve your saved pages from a secure area.

Add a comment here

Full name*

Email address*

Comment*

Rate this page

Please validate that you are human.I am a HumanI am NOT a Human

*indicates required field

By submitting comments to this blog, you are consenting to the following rules:

1. You agree that you are fully responsible for the content that you post. You may not post content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, that violates a third party’s right to privacy, that otherwise violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or that is otherwise inappropriate. Furthermore, you may not post content that degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification. Language intended to intimidate or to incite violence will not be tolerated. In addition, by posting material on the blog comments, you represent that you have the legal right to reproduce, adapt, display, and distribute this material to others. Petplan will not be held responsible for posted information that may infringe on a third party’s copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights.

2. You understand and agree that Petplan may modify and republish the content of your comments. Petplan may monitor user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove, edit or otherwise alter content that it deems inappropriate for any reason. By posting you agree that your comments may be republished by Petplan online and in print.

3. You understand and agree that the blog comment areas are to be used only for non-commercial purposes. This blog prohibits any actions to solicit funds, promote commercial entities or otherwise engage in commercial activity through the blog comment function.

The information contained in this website is for illustrative purposes only and coverage under any pet insurance policy is expressly subject to the conditions, restrictions, limitations, exclusions and terms of the policy documentation issued by the insurer. Availability of this program is subject to each state’s approval and coverage may vary by state.

Petplan insurance policies are administered by Fetch Insurance Services, LLC (Fetch Insurance Agency, LLC in Michigan), d/b/a Petplan (Petplan Insurance Agency, LLC in California) and underwritten by XL Specialty Insurance Company, which carries the rating of A+ by S&P, and AGCS Marine Insurance Company, a member of the Allianz Group, (rated A+ A.M. Best). Coverages may not be available in all jurisdictions. Information accurate as of November 2016.